The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82 – The Price of a Bond

Thoren

“She’s declining.”

The words hit harder than I expected. Harder than the doctor probably intended.

I didn’t react at first.

Not on the surface.

Inside, I unraveled.

Nevara lay pale and still in the bed-her skin too cold, her breathing too light, her presence slipping further from me with every passing minute. I stared at her chest, willing it to rise stronger, deeper. But nothing changed. The machines around her beeped on, steady but hollow, like they were mocking me.

“Explain,” I said.

The doctor hesitated. I didn’t have the patience for it.

“Now.”

He folded his arms across his chest, his face set with quiet resignation. “You already know what I’m going to say.”

“Say it anyway.”

He looked over at Nevara, and the edge in his voice softened. “Wolves aren’t like Lycans. Their magic is rooted in emotion. In connection. That’s what makes their mate bonds… volatile. Beautiful, but fragile.”

“Get to the point.”

“Tobias marked her. Forced a bond she didn’t want,” the doctor said. “That alone is a

violation. But it’s what came after that’s killing her.”

He stepped toward the foot of the bed, eyes never leaving her.

“When a wolf is marked, that bond is part of her now. Her wolf accepts it-sometimes even when she doesn’t. And when one mate dies, the surviving one can die too. Especially if the bond was fresh, Raw. And if the surviving wolf is already weak…”

“She was drugged,” I said, my voice low. “For weeks.”

1/4

He nodded. “The wolfsbane weakened her wolf. The forced mark poisoned what little strength she had left. And then… when Tobias died, the bond shattered. Her body can’t reconcile any of it.”

I sat heavily in the chair beside her, leaning forward, hands clasped between my knees. I could hear the strain in my own voice when I asked, “How long does she have?”

“I don’t know.” He didn’t try to lie. “Could be hours. Could be days. Her wolf is fighting, but

barely.”

My chest tightened. I closed my eyes for a long moment. “There has to be something.”

“There is… theoretically.”

My head snapped up. “Theoretically?”

He exhaled. “Another bond. Another mark-if it were stronger, more complete-it could override the one Tobias forced. Anchor her wolf again. Strengthen the connection between mind, body, and spirit. The right bond might pull her back.”

My pulse surged. “The right bond?”

“It would have to be real. Fated. The kind of bond that imprints on the soul and doesn’t let go.

“1

I stared at him.

“And you’re telling me that might work.”

He didn’t answer.

“Doctor.”

“Yes,” he said at last. “It might.”

I stood, pacing the edge of the room. My fingers dug into my palms as I stared at the floor, the walls, the silent curve of Nevara’s hand beneath the blanket.

“You think I haven’t thought about this already?” I muttered. “You think I haven’t felt it burning in my blood since the moment I found her in that godsdamn cabin? I’ve known for weeks that she was becoming mine again, she was leaning in to our bond again. But I didn’t mark her. I didn’t push. Because she didn’t choose that yet.”

He nodded slowly. “You did the right thing.”

“Then why does it feel like that choice might cost her life?”

2/4

No answer.

Just the faint hum of machines. The steady tick of a clock. The shallow breaths of the woman I would destroy worlds for.

I turned to him, voice hoarse.

“She’s not going to make it, is she?”

“Not if things continue as they are.”

I closed my eyes again, jaw clenched so tight it ached.

“What happens if I mark her now?”

“If it works, it could save her.” The doctor’s voice was gentle now. “If the bond is strong enough, it could reinforce her wolf. Stabilize her vitals. Give her the magic she’s too weak to

call on herself.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“If it doesn’t,” he said slowly, “the shock might be too much. Her body could shut down.”

“And she’d die faster.”

He nodded once. Quiet. Honest.

A bitter laugh escaped my throat. “So I get to choose between letting her die… or risking killing her myself.”

“Not exactly a choice,” the doctor said. “But it’s the one in front of you.”

I stared at her for a long time.

The woman who defied me. Challenged me. Changed me.

The woman who shouldn’t have survived her husband, her pack, or her past-but still did.

Until now.

“This isn’t how it was supposed to happen,” I whispered.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify